# Classification

- Classification is the act of arranging things into groups based on similarities

and differences
- Similarities can be based on genetics or phenotypes

- When classifying anything we look for any similarities and differences

- We group things that have things in common or are similar together

- In 2011 a team of scientists estimated that there could be 8.1 Million different
species.
- Classification systems tend to change and will continue to change as we learn
more about how to examine species

- Earlier classification systems were based on observable features that could be

seen by the naked eye
- Now that we have unravelled the human genome project, have telescopes, we can see
similarities on a more microscopic and atomic level

- We call the evolutionary history of organisms, [Phylogeny]

Order of the classification of life:

- Life
- Domain
- Kingdom
- Phylum
- Class
- Order
- Family
- Genus
- Species

The final scientific name for a species will include the Genus for its first name
and the Species for its last name E.G. *Puma Concolor*
Scientific names should be written in *Italics*

Taxonomy
- The study of the principles behind a classification
- This involves the study of the differences between the species
- These differences can then be used to classify species
- Taxon:
- a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by
taxonomists to form a unit

- Classification
- The process of sorting organisms into groups, with the groups sharing similar
features
- A number of different systems exist
- Until recently the most widely used system contained seven groups ordered in
a hierarchy

- Carl Linnaeus, an 18th Century Swedish Botanist devised the a scheme of

classification
- He put organisms in groups and ranked those groups by what features organisms
have in common
- Why we classify organisms
- To make the study of living things more manageable
- To make it easier to identify organisms
- To predict characteristics
- To help us see the relationships between species
- To find evolutionary links

Species:
- A group of organisms with very similar appearance, anatomy, physiology,
biochemistry, genetics and behavioural features, whose members can interbreed to
produce fertile offspring.

Why use scientific Names?

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# The 5 Kingdoms

## Prokaryotes

- Unicellular
- No nucleus
- Ring of "naked" DNA
- Small Ribosomes
- No visible feeding mechanisms - nutrients absorbed through the cell wall or
produced internally by photosynthesis
- Examples:
- *Escherichia Coli (E coli)*
- *Staphylococcus Aureus*

### Protoctista

- Mainly unicellular
- Have nucleus and other membrane bound organelles
- Some have chloroplasts
- Some are sessile (Attached directly by the base) others move by cilia or flagella
- Nutrients are acquired by photosynthesis (Autrotropic feeders [Can produce their
own food and feed themselves]) Ingestion of other organisms (heterotrophic feeders)
or both, some are parasitic
- Examples:
- *Amoeba*
- *Paramecium*

#### Fungi

- Uni/Multicellular
- Contain a nucleus, Membrane bound organelles and a cell wall made of ==chitin==
- No chloroplasts or chlorophyll
- No mechanism of locomotion (Cant move)
- Most have a body or a mycelium made of threads (Hyphae)
- Nutrients are acquired by absorption - Mainly from decaying material (Saprophytic
feeders) some are parasitic
- Examples:
- *Yeast*
- *Mushrooms*

##### Plantae

- Multicellular
- Nucleus and membrane bound organelles, including chloroplasts, cell wall mainly
made of cellulose.
- Most do not move, but have gametes of some move using cilia or flagella
- Nutrients are acquired by photosynthesis, they are autotrophic feeders.
- Examples:
-

###### Animalia

- Multicellular
- Nucleus and membrane bound organelles (No cell walls)
- No chloroplasts
- Move with the age of flagella or contractile proteins, sometimes in the form of
muscular organs
- Nutrients are acquired by ingestion - heterotrophic feeders
- Food stored as *Glycogen*
- Examples:
- Humans
- Tigers
- Elephants

# The 3 Domains

Based on recent studies of genetic material, many scientists now add a further
level of classification into the hierarchy.
This system was proposed by Carl Woese an American microbiologist in 1977.
Woese's system grouped organisms using differences in:
- The sequence of nucleotides in the cells
- Ribosomal RNA (rRNA)
- The bacteria cell membrane structure
- Their sensitivity to antibiotics

When organisms evolve, their internal and external features change as does their
DNA
DNA determines the proteins that are made which will in turn determine the
organisms characteristics
If the characteristics have changed the DNA must have changed
By comparing similarities in DNA and proteins from different species, scientists
can discover evolutionary links between species
The haemoglobin of humans differs that of chimps by just one amino acid, from
gorillas by three, and from gibbons by eight amino acids
## Eukarya

- Have 80s ribosomes

- RNA polymerase (Responsible for RNA Transcription [When mRNA is made in the
nucleus]) contains 12 proteins

### Archaea

- Have 70s Ribosomes

- RNA polymerase contains between 8-10 proteins and their ribosomes are very
similar to eukaryotic ribosomes
- Have similar histones (protein that wraps around DNA to not make it "naked") to
Eukarya
- Bonds of the lipids in cell membrane different from Bacteria

#### Bacteria

- Have 70s Ribosomes

- RNA proteins contains 5 proteins
- Do not have histones similar to Eukarya
- Bonds of lipids in cell membrane different to Archaea

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# Is there a 6th Kingdom?

- In Woese's system the prokaryote kingdom divided into two kingdoms:

Archaebacteria and Eubacteria
- Although the Archaebacteria and Eubacteria are single celled Prokaryotes,
Eubacteria are classified

## Eubacteria

- AKA True Bacteria

- Found in all environments
- Most bacteria that exist are in this kingdom
- Most bacteria have diameters in the range of 1micrometer (Um) to 5 micrometers

### Archaebacteria

- AKA Ancient Bacteria

- Live in extreme environments such as:
- Hot thermal vents
- Like thermophiles found in the hot springs
- Anaerobic Conditions
- Methanogens in sewage plants and make methane.